Eat the Candy, Drink the Champagne
by snapple79
Summary: What if things had gone differently when Boyd wanted Sam to go undercover in 2x10? "Why, you want to come with me?" Sam asked. "Well…yeah," Andy replied.


I started this fic a while ago and finally just got around to finishing it. It's a bit of a different take on the events of 2x10 - what if Sam & Andy had a chance to talk before he left? It's a one-shot. Enjoy! And let me know what you think with a review. :) I hope to have more stories soon, but inspiration is severely lacking due to what we've heard about S4, so we'll see what happens.

Disclaimer: I don't own Rookie Blue (or S4 would not be going in the direction it looks like, based on promos and spoilers).

* * *

**Eat the Candy, Drink the Champagne**

Andy and Sam were standing at a checkpoint, claiming to be ensuring that people were wearing their seatbelt, but they were really on the lookout for the father who kidnapped his own son.

It gave Andy a lot of time to think and she was still shell-shocked that Sam was going to be going undercover again. She just always thought he'd be there when she finally got her life together again because he was always there when it mattered. She just didn't want him to be a rebound; wanted to have Luke fully in their past before she made a move. She wanted to have her own place and be living her own life again, so he knew she was all in when it came to them. But now he was going to be leaving and she hadn't admitted her feelings to him.

"So, this undercover operation with Boyd, is it dangerous?" she asked as they leaned against their cruiser.

"Well, they don't usually do deep cover on people with parking tickets, unless you got a lot of them, then it's a joint meter maid-ETF thing. Why, you want to come with me?" Sam asked, knowing she'd never give up her life, give up her friends, for months. She had a plan for her life and she was sticking to it.

"Well...yeah," she replied easily, walking across the street as another car approached.

And that, that was not at all what he expected her response to be.

She looked over the car at him as it began to drive away. "I mean, if you want me to, if you need a partner. Which, you probably don't...I mean, you have more years of experience undercover than I have on the job, so yeah, I totally get that you probably prefer to work solo." The last of her babbling words were drowned out by Oliver over the radio saying the vehicle they'd been looking for had been spotted.

Sam didn't have time to process what she'd said as they sped down the highway.

* * *

It was hours later while he was changing out of his uniform that Sam replayed Andy's words in his head. The last thing he expected when he teased her about going undercover with him was for her to say yes, to so easily agree to it. He hadn't been prepared for it, hadn't known what to say. And there had been something about the way she'd looked at him as she said yes, like she was saying it not just for professional reasons.

His mind fast forwarded to the moment next to the ambulance after he'd returned with the kidnapped boy. His gut instinct had him leaning into her, wanting to feel her lips against his, but the blue flashing lights surrounding them suddenly reminded him where they were and, as if on the same wavelength, they both pulled back preventing their lips from touching.

But there had been something there for both of them, he was sure of it. Well, he was cautiously optimistic that she shared his feelings. He was afraid, to be honest. He told himself he hadn't made a move after she broke up with Luke because he was giving her time. But really, deep down in his heart he was just scared.

Still, he wanted to take her out to dinner, talk to her, see if they really were on the same page. That her offer to join him undercover wasn't solely about advancing her career, but maybe, just maybe about wanting to explore a _them_. There was this quaint little mom and pop Italian restaurant that he thought was perfect for tonight. It bordered on romantic, but wasn't so overwhelming that it would be awkward.

He slid on his leather jacket and headed to the women's locker room to find Andy, an extra bounce in his step. Andy was putting on her coat when he made his way toward her locker. "McNally."

She turned around and smiled at him. "Hey Sam. Hellavu day, huh?"

Before he could get to the personal part of this conversation, he did have a message to pass along to her, so he decided to get that out of the way. "Hey, the hospital called, they need your notes for the post mortem on the woman in the car."

"What?" she asked surprised. She didn't know what he was talking about. "Leslie's alive. Seriously, she's fine. I got her out in time. The medics said she'd be fine."

He cursed himself for not realizing she hadn't been updated and scratched a hand across the back of his head trying to figure out how to break it to her. "Shit, Andy, I thought...I thought you heard. She died at the hospital. She had an embolism, got into her blood stream on impact, hit her lungs, and that was it."

"But...I got her out. She...was fine." She shook her head, not believing what he was telling her. It couldn't be true. He had to have misheard.

The sad broken look on her face crushed him. "Hey, hey, you did everything you could. You couldn't have known. It happens sometimes. You do what you can and it looks like you got 'em...and then you don't."

In a daze, she grabbed Leslie's keys from her locker and stared at them without really focusing. She'd made a promise in that car today and she was going to follow through with it. "I gotta go," she said, shutting her locker.

"Let me drive you home," he offered as she started to walk by him.

She shook her head slightly. "No, I gotta take care of something. Gotta take care of a jerky cat."

He had no idea where this was coming from, but reached out to wrap his fingers around her arm. "Let me take you," he said softly. "Wherever you need to go."

She gave an almost imperceptible nod of her head. He was always there when it mattered and this was another one of those times.

He guided her out to his truck for what turned into a silent drive to Leslie's condo. He wasn't really sure what had happened between his partner and the victim before the car erupted in flames earlier, but something had gotten to Andy, and he'd do whatever she needed. He had to admit though, this wasn't how he envisioned the night ending.

But he'd do anything for her, so here he was, watching Andy walk around Leslie's condo, putting a CD in the stereo, pouring food for the cat. It was when she picked up a bottle of champagne that he finally saw light in her eyes again, eyes that had darkened the moment he told her Leslie had died. He walked over to her, needing to know what was going on in that head of hers, but she spoke first, as if reading the questions on his mind.

"She was waiting to drink this, you know," Andy said, putting down the champagne. She stared at the bottle and it was as if it had the answers to everything. She'd waited to tell Sam how she felt. She'd tried to ignore what she'd felt for him. But this was her sign, an expensive bottle of champagne. She didn't care if their time was limited. She wasn't going to wait anymore. She saw what she wanted and was going to take it.

"I know that I've got a plan, ya know. And it's a great one." She turned around, finding him closer than she expected, nearly invading her personal space. She found she really didn't mind. "But screw it. Screw the plan because I don't want to save the good candy for later anymore, ya know. I want to drink the champagne now and I want...I want..."

The look in her eyes told him everything he needed to know, told him the feelings he had were most definitely shared. He decided to quiet her cute babbling by pressing his lips against hers, with one hand in her hair, the other sliding from her waist up to her back. It took her a moment to catch up, to realize he felt what she felt. She gripped his jacket in her hands and pulled him closer, licked her way into his mouth, hot and messy. This...This was all she ever wanted.

They stayed like that for several minutes - hands slowly moving across each other's bodies, lips fused together, momentarily breaking apart every so often to suck in some air.

Sam pulled back first - only enough to nudge her nose with his - because he knew they couldn't stay like this forever in the dead woman's condo. "Let me take you to dinner," he whispered, his voice husky in between heavy breaths.

She nodded, her forehead bumping his. "Yeah. Yeah, I'd like that," she replied, a grin quickly breaking out across her face.

"Let's go," he said, dimples on full display as he held his hand out for her take.

* * *

Once they'd been seated in the restaurant and placed their orders, they started mindless chatter, both a little nervous. Even though neither had titled this a date in any way, between the kiss and the looks they were giving each other, it was feeling much like a first date.

"You okay about Leslie? You seemed to take it harder than usual," he asked, concern filling his face.

"It's tough. You think you've saved them, that it's been a successful shift and then..." She swiped at a tear that threatened to break lose. "Then they die anyway. But maybe...I don't know, maybe it was supposed to be this way, so she could show me that I shouldn't always save the good candy." She smiled as the last words came out of her mouth.

"Told you, I don't wait to have my good candy," he said, his dimples smiling back at her.

They both knew they were _not_ talking about candy.

"So, we have three weeks right? Can we...Can we make the most of them before you have to leave?" she asked, eyes dropping to her fingers that were picking nervously at the label of her beer bottle. She hated the thought of him leaving, but she could wait. She _would_ wait for him to come back and they could continue what they started in these three weeks.

"Did you mean what you said earlier? About wanting to come with me?" He didn't have to wait long for her a response, a nod of her head as she took her bottom lip between her teeth. "Then we're not limited to three weeks."

A grin spread across her face. "Are you sure? I don't want you to feel obligated. Will they even let me? Am I allowed to tell my dad? Do we tell Frank?" The questions rattled out of her mouth as quick as the thoughts popped in her head.

Sam chuckled and held up his hand to stop her. "Look, it's a dangerous op, so backup can only help me." It might not have been the only reason he had for wanting her with him, but they'd get to that later. "You've gotta know though, we're going to be dealing with guys, making friends with guys, nastier than you've ever imagined. Jamie Brennan is known for his gruesome torture. Before you say yes, you have to think about that. Okay?"

She nodded. "I want to do this. I know it's dangerous, but even more reason for me to be there for you. And, you know, maybe I can prevent you from getting tackled by a girl again," she said cheekily.

Sam shook his head and stuck his tongue in his cheek as he chuckled at her teasing. "Okay. We'll talk to Boyd tomorrow and have you read into the op. You can't tell your dad much, but I can help you figure out what to say so he's not worried," he said.

"You have a lot of experience making sure people aren't worried about you." It was a statement more than a question, but he read the curiosity in her eyes.

"At first it was hard figuring out how to tell my sister I was going under. Now we have this code where I don't actually come out and say it, but I let her know I'll be gone and she understands. It's hard on her."

They chatted a bit more about preparing for an undercover job. "You ready for this?" he asked.

Andy nodded her head with confidence, knowing he was giving her one last out. "I see an opportunity and I'm taking it. I'm not overthinking it. I'm not worried about following a plan. I want this. And...I want _this,_" she replied, referring to what was happening between them with her last words.

"I want _this_ too. Have for a while," he admitted, not letting his eyes move from hers.

"Me too. I was fooling myself, faking it. But I'm not anymore."

"You never have to fake it with me, McNally."

"I know. Never really was with you," she said, giving him a lopsided smile. She may have tried to push aside her feelings for Sam, may have tried to make herself believe Luke was the safe choice for her, but whenever she was around Sam, her true feelings would always surface. She couldn't fake anything with him; he always saw right through it.

"You know," he said, taking a swig of his beer as realization set in. "Probably not the most conventional way to start...this. Going undercover."

"We don't really do normal, do we?" she asked.

"Normal's overrated," he replied smirking.

She grinned widely at him as their waitress arrived with their food. She was excited for whatever abnormal thing they were about to embark on.

* * *

They were making out on his couch a couple hours later, shirts already tossed aside, when there was a knock on the door. Sam really had _no_ interest in whoever was out there though. "They'll go away," he mumbled into Andy's neck before resuming the trail of wet kisses he was leaving.

Andy couldn't really form a coherent thought, the way his hands and lips were igniting a fire _everywhere_ they touched. "Mmmhmm."

When the knocking only got louder, Sam pulled back and let out a huff.

"They're not gonna go away," Andy said, vocalizing what they were both thinking.

He sighed when the knocking continued. He pressed his lips to hers quickly before reluctantly pushing himself off the couch. He grabbed his shirt, pulling it over his head as he walked to the door. Andy sat up, sliding her shirt on while Sam answered the door. She frowned thinking about how they were always interrupted - her phone the night of the blackout and now someone dropping by unannounced. She was pretty sure they were cursed. She was trying not to move too fast, but she really wanted to get his clothes off, wanted to finally enjoy what she'd been missing all this time.

When Sam opened the door, the last person he expected to see was standing there. "Boyd?"

"It's time, Sammy," the detective said, grinning.

Still in an Andy-induced fog, Sam had no idea what he was talking about. "Time?"

Boyd rolled his eyes. "You're going under tonight, buddy."

Sam glanced over his shoulder and back at Boyd. "You said three weeks. That I had three weeks."

"Things changed. C'mon, Sammy, pack a bag and let's go."

"I..." He glanced behind him again even though he couldn't see Andy from where he stood. "I want a partner. This op could be dangerous and I want to know I have someone there I can trust to have my back."

Boyd rubbed at his beard contemplating the request. "Yeah, that could work. I, uh, I could probably find someone in a few days, a week at most. Could say he's a brother or a cousin."

"I already have someone," he said. "She could be ready to come with me tonight."

"She?" Boyd quirked his eyebrows.

Before Sam had a chance to respond, he heard Andy's voice behind him. "Sam? Everything - " Her words stopped short when she saw who was standing in the doorway. "Oh, sorry, I'll just..." She tilted her head back to where she'd come from, but Sam reached out and grabbed her arm before she could walk away.

"McNally, stay. This involves you too," Sam said. She tentatively stepped up next to him when he released her arm.

"Why would she...?" Boyd looked back and forth between the two, confused for a moment before it suddenly clicked. He shook his head. "No. She's not coming."

"You just said I could have a partner. She's the partner I want."

"Sammy."

"We know each other's moves. I trust her," he said, looking over at her to see a small smile on her face as she met his gaze.

Boyd pushed out a breath and shook his head. "Fine. She screws this up, it's on you buddy, and you'll never see undercover work again. Neither of you," he spit out in warning.

"We'll be ready to leave in 15 minutes, but we have to stop and grab her stuff too," Sam told him, ignoring the snide remark.

"Yeah, whatever," Boyd grumbled, and walked toward his SUV parked at the curb.

Sam shut the door and looked over at Andy. "So, we're really doing this, aren't we?" she asked, lips still curved up in a smile.

"If you want to..." Sam was suddenly nervous and questioned whether now that Andy had time to think about it, if she'd changed her mind. "I know we talked about having 3 weeks, figuring out what to tell your dad and everything, but - "

"I want to," she said confidently as she interrupted him. "Stop thinking I'm going to back out. I'm in this with you." She didn't want him questioning her desire to go undercover with him. It could be great for her career and most importantly, she'd be with Sam. After everything they'd gone through to get where they were tonight, she wasn't going to let some undercover job interfere. "I'll call my dad while you pack your stuff."

He stared at her as she smiled, and wondered for a moment if they had any idea what they were doing or what they were getting themselves into. But he didn't care. He had Andy and he wasn't going to let her go.

He quickly made his way around his apartment, tossing clothes and a few other necessities into a duffel bag. Out of habit he tossed a ragged old copy of Moby Dick on tape in the bag, but knew he had something even better to keep him grounded in reality on this job: the beautiful brunette sitting in the next room.

When he returned to the living room, Andy was hanging up with her father. "He take it okay?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, he knows what this job, what being a cop, entails. I think he's scared though," she said, standing up and walking toward him.

"Are you...scared?" he asked as he closed the rest of the distance between them.

She shook her head. "No...I mean, you'll be there."

He cupped her cheek with his hand and lowered his lips to hers. "There's no going back," he whispered against her lips.

Andy recognized the double meaning - they were _all in_ on the UC and what was happening between them - and smiled up at him. "I don't wanna go back."

* * *

The End.


End file.
